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"In every situation we are doing targeted enforcement," said Noem during a press gaggle outside the White House Thursday in response to a reporter asking why some Americans have been asked to provide proof of citizenship in Minnesota.
"If we are on a target, there may be individuals surrounding that criminal that we may be asking who they are and why they're there and having them validate their identity," Noem said.
Last January, among President Donald Trump's list of executive orders was one requiring that immigrants carry proof of their legal status, such as their visa, green card, or other form of ID.
Now, with thousands of people protesting against ICE and smaller groups working as legal observers of federal agent activity, U.S. citizens are also coming into close contact with those who may ask for proof of ID under this rule.
When the rule was emphasized by Trump, there were warnings that if all immigrants were supposed to carry documentation, by default all people in the U.S. would have to carry ID so that they were not wrongly identified as an illegal immigrant.
And here we are.
Avi Meyerstein, founder of The Alliance for Middle East Peace, on X: "Unlike many places in the world, Americans are not required to carry ID to walk down the street. It's a freedom many may have taken for granted."
Joshua Windham, senior attorney at the Institute for Justice, told Newsweek: "First, the notion that DHS is always doing targeted enforcement is simply false. There are countless reports and videos of DHS officers stopping and questioning people about whom they have no prior information and whom they do not reasonably suspect of violating any law. Suspicion-less stops—when the person is not free to leave—are flatly unconstitutional. Second, American citizens are not legally required to carry proof of citizenship as they go about their daily lives, and that's no less true when they happen to be near somebody DHS targets. We do not live in a 'show your papers' society."
"In every situation we are doing targeted enforcement," said Noem during a press gaggle outside the White House Thursday in response to a reporter asking why some Americans have been asked to provide proof of citizenship in Minnesota.
"If we are on a target, there may be individuals surrounding that criminal that we may be asking who they are and why they're there and having them validate their identity," Noem said.
Last January, among President Donald Trump's list of executive orders was one requiring that immigrants carry proof of their legal status, such as their visa, green card, or other form of ID.
Now, with thousands of people protesting against ICE and smaller groups working as legal observers of federal agent activity, U.S. citizens are also coming into close contact with those who may ask for proof of ID under this rule.
When the rule was emphasized by Trump, there were warnings that if all immigrants were supposed to carry documentation, by default all people in the U.S. would have to carry ID so that they were not wrongly identified as an illegal immigrant.
And here we are.
Avi Meyerstein, founder of The Alliance for Middle East Peace, on X: "Unlike many places in the world, Americans are not required to carry ID to walk down the street. It's a freedom many may have taken for granted."
Joshua Windham, senior attorney at the Institute for Justice, told Newsweek: "First, the notion that DHS is always doing targeted enforcement is simply false. There are countless reports and videos of DHS officers stopping and questioning people about whom they have no prior information and whom they do not reasonably suspect of violating any law. Suspicion-less stops—when the person is not free to leave—are flatly unconstitutional. Second, American citizens are not legally required to carry proof of citizenship as they go about their daily lives, and that's no less true when they happen to be near somebody DHS targets. We do not live in a 'show your papers' society."
